1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method and apparatus for selecting a service path in a communication system, and in particular, to a method and apparatus for selecting a service path of a Mobile Station (MS) in consideration of frequency resources reused in a Relay Station (RS) existing within a cell.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a 4th Generation (4G) communication system, researches are being actively conducted to provide users with a variety of Quality of Services (QoSs) at a high data transfer rate of about 100 Mega bits per second (Mbps).
In particular, in a Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) communication system, such as a Local Area Network (LAN) system, a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) system, etc., researches are being conducted so a high speed service can be supported while ensuring mobility and QoS. A typical example of such a communication system includes a BWA communication system conforming to the Institutes of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16d standard or the IEEE 802.16e standard. However, when a Base Station (BS) is further included in a new system, a wired network may be newly installed, which leads to an additional cost. Therefore, a communication technique in which a Relay Station (RS) is installed between the BS and a Mobile Station (MS) is expected as a promising 4 G communication technique.
In a communication system using a RS, channel conditions may differ from one channel to another since separate channels are formed in a BS-RS link and a BS-MS link. As a result, throughput for a case when an MS directly communicates with a BS may be different from throughput for a case when an MS communicates with a BS via an RS. Accordingly, there is a need for a method for selecting a service path of an MS (i.e., MS-BS link or MS-RS link).